Hunter Library Digital Collections

All Collections

When it opened in 1908, the Champion Fibre Company was the largest pulp mill in the world. For the 60 years it was under the leadership of Rueben "Mr. Champion" B. Robertson and was a source of employment, a site of innovation, and a hub of community life for the town of Canton. The population of Canton tripled in size between the start …

Cherokee Traditions: From the Hands of Our Elders is a database of Cherokee art forms, historic photographs, and native language recordings. Images are primarily from the collections of Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Recordings were made as part of WCU’s Cherokee Language Revitalization program. …

The Civil War, fought between the Union and the Confederate States of America, occurred from 1861 to 1865. This collection of items related to that conflict includes correspondence that dates to the earliest years of the war. Troops from western North Carolina kept in touch with family members by exchanging frequent letters to and from …

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a worldwide revival of handcraft swept over the Appalachian Mountains as part of a renewed interest in things made by hand and in the place of work in society. An archival repository contains over 4,500 documents, photographs, and craft objects supported by an interactive research-based …

This digital collection was created to contribute to the public's understanding of the forces and ideas that led to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. The park is world renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of its landscape, and the endurance of the region's …

About the collections

Hunter Library is committed to building regionally oriented, historically significant collections of broad cultural and research interest. The library's digital collections provide a foundation for research, education, and humanities programming through their documentation of significant aspects of the American story.

The images in these collections can be downloaded for private use without cost or permission. Use of any images for publication--articles, exhibitions, etc.--requires notification and permission. To request permission or for higher resolution images, please contact Special Collections at specialcollections@wcu.edu.